LocostUSA.com

Whoa
How about a photo or two of this secret "There's even a little flip down dead pedal for longer trips" design. Dave W

This is the infamous dead pedal of which Bill speaks. It's intended to just support the outer edge (about 1/3) of the left foot which, surprisingly, seems to be comfortable (at least, with shoes on). It hinges up & back when not needed, and a rare-earth magnet keeps it folded against the frame. To unfold it (deploy it? de-fold it?) you just flick it open with the edge of your shoe & its weight keeps it open. To close it, you lift it with the edge of your shoe & the magnet does the rest.

I made the various parts out of 1/2" angle iron, some 1/8" steel, a bit of steel rod, and...part of a GM window regulator. I had the latter lying around the shop for a few years (I'm an inveterate, unrepentant scrounge, and couldn't bear to throw it out) and it had those nifty, tapering holes in it. Cut off a few inches of it, re-shape it to an aesthetically-pleasing teardrop shape, and voila! A dead pedal! LOL! It's just a small detail, but sometimes those can improve the driving experience. In my case, due to the restrictions of footwell space in Locosts in general, I wanted somewhere to rest my clutch foot, so it seemed like a good idea. Of course, the car's not on the road yet, so its utility is yet to be tested...

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Scratch building, at continental-drift speed, a custom McSoreley-design framed, dual-Weber 45DCOE carburated, Zetec-engined, ridiculously fast money pit.

http://zetec7.webs.com/

That is an awesome looking solution - nice work!

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My Haynes/Miata build: http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=3774

"I also found out that Mike's first car was a 1962 Fiat 600 sedan."

Those little buggers really get around! I managed to drag one home many moons ago for a project that never went anywhere. Back in the late 60s, early 70s, there was a guy that ran one out at Lions Drag Strip in Long Beach. He had swapped in a Porsche 912 engine, and this little bomb was eating GTOs, and Mustang GTs alive! I wanted one too. Alas, the care and feeding of a young family put the Ky-Bosh on that idea. When my wife was in her early teens, her Dad drove one. Just the thought makes me laugh. Carol's Dad was about 6' 2", and close to 300#s. The idea of him uncurling out the door is almost too much to imagine. Sorta like a one-man clown car!

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Mike - Read my story at http://twinlakesseven.blogspot.com/

Thanks! I built several designs (and utter failures) before I got to this one. If anyone is interested in incorporating any of it, here are a few more detailed pics. Pardon all the rust! It doesn't look that bad in person, honest! The camera flash makes it look worse than it is! You can see the magnet in the pics...covered in a coating of tiny filings & grindings...like it's wearing a tiny grey fur coat.

As you can see, the pedal assembly is a bolt-on, in case I want to make adjustments to the design. When Bill was here, I watched him use the dead pedal & I had an epiphany - I'm going to add a small tab to the back of the outer edge of the pedal itself, to make it easier to deploy. Thanks, Bill!

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Scratch building, at continental-drift speed, a custom McSoreley-design framed, dual-Weber 45DCOE carburated, Zetec-engined, ridiculously fast money pit.

http://zetec7.webs.com/

My '62 Fiat 600 (my very first car) had suicide doors. I loved 'em!! When my starter solenoid finally died, I'd put the car in reverse, turn on the ignition, my RIGHT foot on the clutch, and my left foot out the door. Give it a good push backwards, pop the clutch, and off I went! Worked every time! I did, however, eventually replace the starter solenoid...

I loved that car. It was funny - the clutch was 99% worn out when I got it, and changing gears while going up hills made it sound like I had a 21-speed transmission (lots of slippage!). Nonetheless, the car ran like a champ, used gas like a dedicated miser, and seated 4 full-sized adults comfortably. It even had a real trunk! God, I wish I still had that car!! I keep imagining..."What if it had a Subaru WRX motor in the back? Could I keep tires on it? Would I kill myself in the first mile??"

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Scratch building, at continental-drift speed, a custom McSoreley-design framed, dual-Weber 45DCOE carburated, Zetec-engined, ridiculously fast money pit.

http://zetec7.webs.com/

Thanx Mike
That foot rest is a great idea
Dave W

I really love the foot rest. You could make it whatever size you have available.

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mobilito ergo sum
I drive therefore I am

I can explain it to you,
but I can't understand it for you.

The rest is 4” high, and comes out 2” from the frame at its widest (I just went out & measured it), which is about as narrow as I could make it while still making it wide enough to support my foot. Depending on the pedal box width, it could be even wider.

I tried using various springs etc. to make it stay open & closed, but they were all too clumsy/ineffective/fragile/complicated. In the end, the magnet was the charm. It’s a rare-earth type, about the diameter of a dime, and twice as thick. A thinner one would have worked just as well, but it’s what I had “in stock”.

I’d forgotten - the reason the magnet looks like it’s wearing a little coat is because...it is! In order to make sure the magnet stuck to the frame and not the foot rest, I used a disc of Velcro (the stick-on, fuzzy side) on top of the magnet. It cushions the parts, ensures there are no rattles, and makes it easy to deploy the foot rest. Sometimes, the simplest & easiest solution is the best solution!

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Scratch building, at continental-drift speed, a custom McSoreley-design framed, dual-Weber 45DCOE carburated, Zetec-engined, ridiculously fast money pit.

http://zetec7.webs.com/

Just found a mechanical drawing of the coolest mounting brackets I've seen! I have GOT to make me some of these!! Probably have to buy the ambihelical hex nuts, though...they'd be tough to make...

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Scratch building, at continental-drift speed, a custom McSoreley-design framed, dual-Weber 45DCOE carburated, Zetec-engined, ridiculously fast money pit.

http://zetec7.webs.com/

Just get me a "good" bottle of Tequila and in a couple of days I can make one of those!!!

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Larry from Burien

Hey other Larry,

After that bottle of 'good' tequila just about anything could look like that!

Cheers and hope the winter isn't being too unkind for you!

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Larry in Seattle

As many times as I have looked at one of those br@ck3ts, they still hurt my eyes. And Tequila doesn't help.

I just hate how they round-up pi in the drawings! How could you ever build an accurate copy using inaccurate numbers?

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Bill H
Winnipeg, MB, Canada

Yeah, I know, right?! Darned imprecision, anyway! Some people just can't get it right!

Made up a wiring loom for the gauges today. I was concerned that they wouldn't be visible (Lucas lighting, dontcha' know?) with the original, screw-in bulb holders & bulbs, so I bought new holders from England that use the GM-style push-in baseless bulbs. While they're not all that bright, they're a lot better than the originals, and they're still Lucas. They're all lit by 14 gauge single (+) and (-) wires, with small trunk wires branching off to each bulb holder, so as to keep the wiring tidy. Behind that dash is going to be a very busy place!

I took a pic of the gauges lit up - not too bad for over 50 years old!



Now I'm working on sorting out the wiring. My EZ Wiring harness came separated into three groups: a tail group, a middle (cabin & dash) group, and an engine house group. It turns out that the wires weren't all sorted properly, with some wires in the wrong group (e.g., one of the rear turn signal power wires included in the cabin group, rather than the tail group), so I'm having to go through the entire harness to check every wire. That's gonna take some time.

I've also started making big holes in my fuse panel box, located under the horizontal scuttle panel (horizontal firewall), and accessible via a hinged door in that panel. The holes have to accommodate the various wiring groups, and face the right directions, as space is tight & I can't afford any errors there. The pre-wired steering column wiring connectors, in particular, don't have a lot of extra wire, so they have to get up behind the dash directly above the throttle pedal. The harness will have to fit tight up there to prevent fouling on the pedal, or my right foot

Ah well, little bits of progress. Or, as my wife puts it: "Moving the peanut forward, a little bit every day."

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Scratch building, at continental-drift speed, a custom McSoreley-design framed, dual-Weber 45DCOE carburated, Zetec-engined, ridiculously fast money pit.

http://zetec7.webs.com/